ArticleEmerging microbes & infections2021
The
Article in Emerging microbes & infections, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 123 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
123 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 187 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Effect of Lactoferrin Supplementation on Inflammation, Immune Function, and Prevention of Respiratory Tract Infections in Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of Lactoferrin on Clinical Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: The LAC Randomized Clinical Trial.Nutrients · 2023Trial
- The Prospect of Lactoferrin Use as Adjunctive Agent in Management of SARS-CoV-2 Patients: A Randomized Pilot Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021Trial
- Lactoferrin blocks orthopoxvirus entry via heparan sulphate and regulates host antiviral pathways.Emerging microbes & infections · 2026Article
- Drug Repurposing as a Broad-Spectrum Strategy Against Coronaviruses: Frontiers in Mechanisms and Clinical Translation.Viruses · 2026Review
- Nasal inhalation of antiviral microparticulate powders to target early infection of upper airways.Drug delivery and translational research · 2026Article
- Whey Proteins and Immunity: Mechanisms Underlying Immune System Reinforcement and Protection Against Viral and Bacterial Infections.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Oral lactoferrin reduces systemic inflammation, enhances anti-viral responses and modulates immune cell profiles: a randomised controlled trial in healthy, older adults.The British journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- The soluble G protein of respiratory syncytial virus promotes viral dissemination via TLR2-mediated NLRP3 priming and pyroptosis.Npj viruses · 2026Article
- Bovine Lactoferrin Inhibits Pseudorabies Virus Attachment Through Blockade of Glycoprotein C-Heparan Sulfate Interaction.Transboundary and emerging diseases · 2026Article
- The Role of ACE2 in SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Pathogenesis, and Antiviral Interventions.Journal of medical virology · 2025Review
- Clinical Applications of Bovine Colostrum in GastrointestinaI Disorders: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Therapeutic Potential.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 entry: implications for biomedical strategies.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2025Review
- The Multifaceted Functions of Lactoferrin in Antimicrobial Defense and Inflammation.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- Inhibition of Human Coronavirus 229E by Lactoferrin-Derived Peptidomimetics.Pharmaceutics · 2025Article
- The Novel Effect and Potential Mechanism of Lactoferrin on Organ Fibrosis Prevention.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Efficacy of dispirotripiperazine PDSTP in a golden Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Nature's cryptographic codebreakerFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Comparative study of the propagation and plaque titration conditions for human coronavirus OC43 as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2.Archives of virology · 2024Article
63 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing pandemic that lacks effective therapeutic interventions. SARS-CoV-2 infects ACE2-expressing cells and gains cell entry through either direct plasma membrane fusion or endocytosis. Recent studies have shown that in addition to ACE2, heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) also play an important role in SARS-CoV-2 cell attachment by serving as an attachment factor. Binding of viral spike protein to HSPGs leads to the enrichment of local concentration for the subsequent specific binding with ACE2. We therefore hypothesize that blocking the interactions between viral spike protein and the HSPGs will lead to inhibition of viral replication. In this study, we report our findings of the broad-spectrum antiviral activity and the mechanism of action of lactoferrin (LF) against multiple common human coronaviruses as well as SARS-CoV-2. Our study has shown that LF has broad-spectrum antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-229E in cell culture, and bovine lactoferrin (BLF) is more potent than human lactoferrin. Mechanistic studies revealed that BLF binds to HSPGs, thereby blocking viral attachment to the host cell. The antiviral activity of BLF can be antagonized by the HSPG mimetic heparin. Combination therapy experiment showed that the antiviral activity of LF is synergistic with remdesivir in cell culture. Molecular modelling suggests that the N-terminal positively charged region in BLF (residues 17-41) confers the binding to HSPGs. Overall, LF appears to be a promising drug candidate for COVID-19 that warrants further investigation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.